Key points
- African labour unions say the AfDB and World Bank-backed “Mission 300” initiative could worsen debt burdens without delivering sustainable electricity access.
- The unions argue that previous private sector-led electricity reforms have failed, leaving nearly 600 million Africans without power.
- The World Bank, however, reaffirmed its commitment to Nigeria’s electricity sector despite the cancellation of $717 million in undisbursed reform funds.
Main story
Labour unions across Africa have rejected the African Development Bank (AfDB) and World Bank-backed “Mission 300” electricity initiative, warning that the programme risks deepening Africa’s debt crisis while failing to provide sustainable electricity access on the continent.
The unions, operating under the umbrella of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), Public Services International (PSI) and IndustriAll Global Union Sub-Saharan African Region, made their position known during the 2026 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
The groups, which include affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), argued that despite years of reforms and promises from international financial institutions, nearly 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity.
In a joint statement, the unions described Mission 300 as a continuation of the “neoliberal approach” to electrification, similar to the AfDB’s New Deal on Energy for Africa launched about a decade ago.
According to the unions, the previous initiative had promised universal urban electricity access and 95 per cent rural access by 2025 through private sector-led investments, but failed to achieve its objectives.
“Mission 300 likely faces a similar fate because it also relies on ‘crowding in’ private investment by creating ‘bankable projects’ for private interests,” the statement said.
The unions further criticised plans by the AfDB and the World Bank Group to mobilise $48 billion in concessional financing, arguing that the arrangement would compel African governments to assume the risks of private investments despite already struggling with debt servicing obligations.
They also raised concerns over ongoing electricity sector reforms across African countries aimed at achieving “100 per cent operational cost recovery” through tariff increases and efficiency measures.
According to the unions, such policies weaken public electricity utilities and make it difficult for them to expand infrastructure needed to improve electricity access.
The groups therefore called for what they termed a “Reclaim and Restore” strategy focused on rebuilding and strengthening public electricity utilities instead of relying heavily on private sector participation.
“The current policy makes public utilities weaker to create space for the private sector, but the private sector has yet to show up,” the unions stated.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has clarified that its support for Nigeria’s electricity sector remains active despite the cancellation of approximately $717 million in undisbursed funds linked to the Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP).
The clarification followed concerns that the cancellation could affect other critical electricity projects, particularly the $500 million Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), which focuses on improving the performance of electricity distribution companies through investments in metering, network rehabilitation and operational efficiency.
Speaking with journalists, the World Bank’s Senior External Affairs Officer, Mansir Nasir, explained that the cancellation followed a joint review conducted with Nigerian authorities due to changing sector conditions and implementation challenges affecting parts of the programme.
“The World Bank Group remains fully committed to supporting the Nigeria Distribution Sector Recovery Program, which is improving metering and distribution performance,” Nasir said.
He added that the Bank continues to support other interventions in Nigeria’s power sector, including the Nigeria Electricity Transmission Project and the Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up initiative aimed at expanding off-grid electricity access.
According to project records, between 95 and 97 per cent of the approved funds under the affected programme had already been utilised before the cancellation, with only a small balance remaining for technical support and administrative adjustments.
The World Bank also noted that the programme had delivered improvements in the financial performance of the electricity sector, particularly in revenue collections by electricity distribution companies.
The issues
Stakeholders remain divided over the future of electricity reforms in Africa. While development finance institutions continue to advocate private sector participation as a pathway to improving electricity access, labour unions argue that the model has failed to address infrastructure deficits and has instead increased financial pressure on African governments and consumers.
What’s next
African governments, development finance institutions and labour stakeholders are expected to continue engagements on the implementation of Mission 300 and broader electricity sector reforms. In Nigeria, ongoing World Bank-backed projects are expected to proceed despite the restructuring and partial cancellation of the PSRP funding.
Bottom line
As Africa battles a massive electricity access deficit, the debate over whether public or private sector-led models offer the best path to sustainable electrification is expected to intensify, with labour unions warning that debt-heavy reforms may do more harm than good.
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